Paper giant Zellstoff Pöls invests 115 million euros in Styria

A paper factory in Styria is currently being transformed into the biggest craft paper manufacturing factory in Europe.

Paper giant Zellstoff Pöls has invested around 115 million Euro into the project which will create over 30 new jobs in the municipality of Pöls in the district of Murtal in Styria.

The factory will continue to make craft paper which is used in the manufacturing of carrier bags and gift wrap and for the packaging of groceries.

Building work began in October with the construction of a new hall and the planned deadline for the large-scale project is the end of 2013.

Around 75 construction workers are involved in the project.

Project manager Siegfried Gruber will use 26 regional firms located within a 100 kilometre radius of the project to complete the work.

He said: "Of course there is a small advantage to working with local firms, but, by and large, the performance, quality and ultimately the price to realise our plans are ultimately what we consider then choosing which companies we will hire.

From this project, one can see how strong the companies from this region are – and 80 per cent of these businesses are situated within a 100 kilometre radius."

At the heart of the new construction will be a new craft paper machine which will be built by Andritz AG and delivered and set up in April. This new machine will bring over 30 new jobs and provide Pöls with long-term business, as the paper factory will produce 80,000 tonnes of bleached craft paper annually.

Gruber said: "Up until now we’ve had a small paper machine and that produced around 14,000 tonnes of craft paper per year. The new machine will produce 80,000 tonnes a year and mean that we will be the third biggest craft paper manufacturer in Europe."

Zellstoff Pöls AG is the largest company in northern Murtal. It has around 350 workers and 25 apprentices and a turnover of 220 million euros. The company is the largest manufacturer of high-quality long-fibre sulphate pulp in mid and eastern Europe.

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